From Unemployment to Insights: What You May Not Know About Today's Labor Market

Lately I've been asked a lot about the labor market, what it's like to be a job seeker, and why I haven't landed a full-time permanent role in the nearly nine months I've been a job seeker. The first thing I usually say is, no job is permanent. Some people are fortunate enough to be happy and content long term at organizations that choose to keep them forever, or whatever that looks like. I share it is a tough labor market which is usually immediately combatted with, "I heard unemployment is at nearly a record low" or "The jobs report tells a different story, Rachel...".

Recently I've been thinking even more about how to help other job seekers like me. Today, I can help by sharing what I do know about the labor market. The things that the "jobs report" and "unemployment data" isn't showing most Americans. Whether you're a job seeker or not, you may not know or haven't considered the following about our current labor market:

• Jobs are more likely to be onsite vs. the increase in remote roles we've seen in the prior few years. This means more than ever that where a job seeker resides matters in 2024/2025. It will depend on the industry but overall, we are seeing an uptick in return to work mandates.

• Many roles have either been reduced by headcount or all together eliminated depending on the field of work and expertise.

• The majority of employers are no longer looking through a wide inclusive lens to fill their roles. This is the exact opposite of what job seekers experienced during "The Great Resignation". More employers are expecting applicants to show up on paper exactly as their job descriptions are written and with word for word description of said experience.

• On average it is taking job seeker seven-plus months to land a job offer. Many offers aren't for permanent work, but are short term contracts or roles for drastically less than the job seeker made doing the same work a year ago.

• Employers are taking their time (a long time) to fill roles while caught in the blackhole of "but what if someone more qualified applies?".

• Employers have reduced or eliminated their Talent Acquisition and DEI teams and are using agencies and more recently, I've seen individual recruiters to help fill roles. This creates work opportunities for recruiters that are short lived.

• Many roles that are open today are contract and short term in recruitment/talent acquisition in 2024/2025.

• Employers are rejecting candidates for being over-qualified for roles at an alarming pace. So anyone that says ABC company is hiring for a receptionist role (insert entry level to mid level role) and thinks a recruiter or customer success professional with over a decade of experience in their field is going to be considered for a $27 an hour role does not understand the labor market or how employers think today.

• Unemployment numbers reported do not account for job seekers who are not eligible or who have exhausted their unemployment benefits.

• Small to medium size businesses are hiring the most across the US at this time. Job seekers have to expect that these employers have not spent a whole lot of time focused on candidate experience and interview training internally. The processes are more likely to be clunky and lacking in regular communication with candidates. This doesn't mean EVERYONE, but it's the bulk of small to medium sized employers.

• Specific specialties, like recruitment as an example, have been decreased widely across all sectors leading to a frenzy for those who are hiring for these roles. The average wage has been driven down and most recruiting roles are now contract (1099 without benefits, etc).

I do not have all the answers. I've been a job seeker for close to nine months now. I've made it to more final interview rounds than I can count off the top of my head and yet I still have not landed anything longer than a month or two long contract during this time. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that I was able to work for a few months this past Summer and for a month this Fall. The interview feedback I've received has been varied and mostly sparse. I continue to search for patterns when I do receive feedback so I can make corrections and improve. I have not been able to course correct much at all mostly because the feedback hasn't been consistent nor similar from employer to employer.

I've been called the Swiss Army Knife of recruiters more than thrice (shout out to anyone who loves Schitt's Creek like I do!) in the past few months. At the same time I was also told companies are looking for recruiters who are more specialized vs. recruiters who've done a bit of everything. For my search and career in this market personally, my vast experience has been focused on diversity focused recruitment in tech, ngo, corporate, healthcare and more. With the dismantling of DEI programming in many organizations and the new administration's view on DEI, it's hard not to connect the dots in why my experience hasn't been truly valued as it has in the past.

An area I've always been excellent with is my ability to pivot. It's a skillset that has helped me over the years and has lent itself well to my recruitment experience and overall expertise. My ability to meet people where they are and build from there rather than expecting the opposit has also helped me find success as a recruiter over the years. I find myself in the final month of 2024 wondering how in the world I will pivot next. I've already pivoted into contract/fractional recruitment and sourcing work. Will I be able to land enough contract work to live even the humblest of lives? I sure am trying!

I suppose what I am saying is that I do not know what the future holds for me specifically.

As for job-seekers (both the unemployed and the under-employed), I can see the future clearly and whether it makes sense or not to job seekers today - the future of job search and candidate selection is changing rapidly and almost daily. Job seekers have to be quick to research a company, format their resume to speak that company's specific language, and must meet ALL of the requirements to get contacted on a regular basis. They must also work their tails off to get a referral into that role. Recrutiment teams are short staffed and many are utilizing AI to review resumes now (sounds like a nightmare to a recruiter like me). Job seekers need to spend the perfect amount of time researching, creating their resume, seeking someone internally or connected to the role to refer them, and finally applying to get even a chance at being selected for a screening call.

My advice to job seekers, keep at it. Keep building community around you. Keep asking your network for referrals. Try your best not to get discouraged too much but know that if you do, it's okay - just don't sit in the disappointment too long.

If anyone has an idea on how to get these reporting agencies to share the missing data (like how many job seekers have run out of unemployment and are still looking) please share!

Job-seekers, our time is coming. I have to believe that. I hope you do, too.

Whether it is day one of your job search or day 407, let's buckle up, and find better ways to not just survive this job-seeking journey - but land roles together!

If you've recently landed yourself a seat with a new job after a long or short term job search, I want to hear from you. Please comment and let me know if you're willing to share your story with me for an upcoming blog post!